Language of Flowers
by AutumnDawn21
Summary: Shikamaru has trouble showing Ino how he feels. So he decides to tell her he cares in the language she understands best. ShikaIno, series of drabbles. Beginning with Shikamaru in denial.
1. Daffodil

**Daffodil:**

_Regard, Uncertainty, Respect_

Shikamaru didn't know why, but she wouldn't get off his mind. He didn't know why, either. She was such a bossy, demanding, troublesome woman... so much like his mom!

But her image wouldn't leave him alone. He took refuge in his Chuunin duties, keeping too busy to see her. She was strong enought to take care of herself, anyway.

Yet he couldn't ever remember feeling so… vulnerable!

As he slammed his bedroom window shut, he caught sight of a single daffodil rising out of the earth in the familial deer pens. "Now I'll have to weed the pen tomorrow... so troublesome."

Even in sleep, she followed him.

* * *

**This is a series of drabbles, centering around ShikaIno. I just got inspiration, even though I like ShikaTem more. Ah, well. Part Two will be up later tonight.**

_Luv, SoraAzami_


	2. Flag

**Flag:  
**_Royalty, Pride, Stubbornness_

There was no getting around it this time. Asuma-sensei had called Team Ten together, and Shikamaru had no choice but to come.

Even if it meant seeing… her.

As he walked down the street to their customary rendezvous spot, he tried to ignore the sensation of his heart beating twice the pace than was normal. Instead he kept his eyes on a patch of wild flag flowers tucked away in a green little corner right beside his goal.

"It's the adrenaline," he muttered as he entered the take-out BBQ stand, "A new mission…"

Then he saw her.

"Troublesome woman."

"What was that?!"

It was just like always, Shikamaru thought fiercely. Nothing had changed.

Under his skin his pulse quickened with nervous excitement

* * *

I'm definitely feeling this one! I officially love drabbles. This is the first time I've really written one (Or two, really) and they're fun! No complex plot to keep track of... of course, this still has a plot, but its a simple one, not like my other stories. It gives my brain time to recover from the bruising I put it through daily. Last chapter tonight, I still need to do my homework, and its already... 9. Crap.

SoraAzami, signing off!


	3. Gladiolas

**Gladiolas:  
**_Warrior, Striving, "You pierce my heart"_

It was supposed to be a simple C-class mission. Eliminate a bandit gang in southern Fire Country.

Only… the bandits turned out to be Sound-nins.

Shikamaru lets out a yelp as he is thrown from his perch by a massive explosion. He lands hard in the middle of a field beside a clump of gladiolas, barely missing a sharp frock near his head.

He fightst his way to his feet and raises his hands, preparing to begin the Kagemane no Jutsu.

"Heh," a cruel voice scoffs from behind him, "Little boys should just die!"

Shikamaru turns just in time to see the lunging sound-nin jerked backwards, caught in a wire trap the Nara had strung in advance.

"Heh," he returns, "Fools should stay quiet."

The cocky visage vanishes when the Sound-nin fails to reply, a snapped neck inducing an early demise.

Later, off the battlefield, Shikamaru mourns the loss of life. He sits, staring at his hands, smeared with non-existent blood, and broods. At some point his team finds him, and silently offer their support.

Slowly, he comes out of his trance, and looks around at the three ninja. Finally his gaze rests on the only kunoichi, and stays there.

This time, when she orders him home for rest, he does not protest. A funny jolt in his chest cavity is his only reaction to what normally would set off an argument


	4. Calla Lilly

**Calla Lilly:  
**_Grief, Death_

Team Ten was devastated when their sensei was killed in action. Not even the death of the perpetrator could lessen their grief.

Logically, Shikamaru knew Asuma wouldn't want them to mourn for long. But sometimes, even for geniuses such as Shikamaru, logic doesn't always triumph over emotion.

The man was like a second father to him, but Shikamaru knew there was someone who suffered more. Looking over at his sensei's pregnant wife, Sarutobi Kurenai, he frowned thoughtfully. He didn't ever want his children to grow up without a father.

Ino might kill them if left on her own.

He froze, where had that thought come from? Shuddering, he pushed it to the side. It was probably the stress.

That afternoon a small, private ceremony was conducted, with Asuma's name being carved into the KIA monument stone.

His teammate buried her head into his shoulder and wept, one eye never leaving the proceedings. Shikamaru didn't make a single comment about troublesome women, nor complain about wet sleeves. He simply wrapped an arm around her waist and held her tightly, unwilling to let go.

And when, a few days later, he saw Kurenai screaming at Asuma's grave for leaving her, he wordlessly walked the widow home and made a silent vow not to leave his loved ones behind too.

For some reason, a familiar mane of blonde appeared in his mind as he completed his quiet pact.

* * *

I have yet to reach Sarutobi Asuma's death scene, so if any information is incorrect, please tell me and I shall do my best to correct it.

Cheers, **SoraAzami**


	5. Fern

**Fern:**  
_Fascination_

At some point, Shikamaru gives up his denial. It isn't a great epiphany, he's known all along, but somewhere down the road he finally decided to accept it.

He, Nara Shikamaru, happens to be head over heels for Yamanaka Ino.

So instead of wasting his energy on ignoring it, he decides to try and figure out what it is about her that attracts him so. Maybe then he can get over it.

She's a bossy, rude, ungrateful, fan-girlish, troublesome woman who needs him to pull her out of scrapes far too often. She's loud, annoying, nagging, and _way_ too much like his mother for his peace of mind.

All of these traits are things he despises, things that would discourage him on a search for the perfect girl.

Yet, with Ino… they only serve to fascinate him even more.

Rolling over on his stomach, he snorts into a fern growing beneath his head on his favorite cloud-watching hill. "I'm pitiful ...so troublesome."

* * *

(Shifts uncomfortably) I've been a bad authoress... but no one seems to like this story anyway. It's short and sweet. and my friend's got me addicted to drabbles (livejournal is crack... waaaaaay to addictive.)

My finals are nearly here and I only have 6 DAYS OF SCHOOL!!

Luv, SoraAzami


	6. Geranium

I WOULD have had this up like 3 hours ago, but decided to be a dousche. Sorry for the delay.

* * *

**Geranium:**  
_Gentility; Folly; Stupidity; "You Are Foolish."_

"_Shikamaru_!" He hears her, the voice that haunts his dreams.

"Oh my god, oh my god! _Shikamaru_!" Where is she? Some where on the surface, that much he knows. Probably fighting the last enemy standing.

"SHIKA!" The use of his childhood nickname makes him scowl.

"Troublesome woman…" a bubble of air rises, even as the water he just now realizes was there rushes in to fill his open mouth.

There is a muffled scream from above, quickly followed by a splash, shockwaves of water rippling over his fast-numbing skin.

There is a dim sensation of touch, a desperate, grasping hand, clinging desperately to his body, rising laboriously even as Shikamaru feels himself fading away.

'Where is the water?' he wonders. 'Why aren't I in the water?' He does not dare take a breath.

A pleading voice enters his waterlogged ears, and firm hands press harshly upon his chest. Still, he does not breath. When his lips are warmed by the breath of another, tendrils of air escaping the sides as she forces her breath in, he lets out a gasp.

The dam is broken, and a harsh, gagging cough forces out the rest of the salty liquid.

"Stupid, stupid!" Thin, surprisingly strong arms gather up his unresisting body, and clutch it to her chest, dry heaves running through her. "Don't ever do that again!"

She cannot cry, not on a mission, but he knows they are there, invisible on her cheeks.

He does not want to make her cry.

Shikamaru cannot feel his body; there is an intangible sensation, as if he were not quite attached to his material self. He forces arms that do not feel solid to tighten, vocal chords raw with abuse to reply. "I wont… I promise…"

Neither of them mentions the scene again, but when she visits him in the hospital she brings along a bouquet of geraniums, and looks at him meaningfully before departing.

* * *

Pertaining to the story:  
It's the longest chapter yet, and I'm going to try and make the rest shorter, but this was a turning point, and it had so much potential. Besides, I'm hyper and need to describe it in detail.

Not pertaining to the story:  
WOOHOO!! I took care of three finals, and have four to go! Biology and Geometry tomorrow, and maybe World History as well. HELL YES!

Only 2 more days! Then my mom is kidnapping me and bringing me to her Elementary school to give a demonstration with my snake (nuzzles Spitfire) she wanted to take Spiffy in alone, but she's already kidnapped my Guinea Pig that way, not is she taking my snake without my permission too. Besides, Spiffy's an escape artist. And after that she's dropping me off at the park where me and my friends shall has a massive water balloon fight against our friends from a rival school. Hell yeah. SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THE IMMATURITY AND SUMMER RAYS OF GOODNESS AND AWESOME!!


	7. Petunia

**Petunia:  
**_Anger; Resentment; "I Am Furious."_

He comes as she is working in her parent's shop, palms sweaty, obviously nervous about what was to come.

Her heart gives a little jolt, and she smiles prettily, absent-mindedly pruning a display of petunias. "Hi, Shikamaru."

As usual, he gets straight to the point, blunt to the point of harshness, "Chouji and I have a mission." He gulps, and she is confused (and a bit disappointed)

"Oh? What time do I have to be ready?"

He shifts uncomfortably, and Ino senses she's finally stumbled across the root of the problem.

"No, Ino. _Chouji _and I have a mission."

She freezes, the daintily crafted vase slipping from her fingers to crash upon the floor, spilling water and blooms in every direction, "What?" The smile remains on her face, somehow only serving to unnerve Shikamaru even further.

"What do you _mean_, you and _Chouji_ have a mission?! What about _me_?!"

Shikamaru flees.

"NARA SHIKAMARU, COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!!"

That night Shikamaru and Chouji infiltrate a brothel, posing as clients. They assassinate the brothel owner, a man renown for his mistreatment of women, and taste for delicate young blondes.

Ino will never know, but Tsunade didn't exclude her from the mission.

Her Chuunin captain did.

In her office, Tsunade smiles drunkenly, moving two pictures of her young soldiers about on her paper-strewn desk.

"The ball is in play…" She takes another swig from her sake bottle and giggles girlishly.


	8. Sweat Pea

**Sweet Pea:  
**_"Go Away"_

He is angry for some irrational reason, bitter waves rolling off of him even as he sits in the corner of his living room. Why is he angry? He doesnt know. Still, he wallows in gloom, providing a bleak backdrop to what once was a bright, cheery room.

Nara Yoshino stares as she opens the door, not used to her son expending this much effort on brooding. She steps lightly into the room, shivering at the foreboding nimbus that engulfed her. Setting down a new bouquet of sweet peas, she tiptoes backwards out of the room, letting out a sigh of relief as the eldritch aura disintegrates.

The door front door opens, and her son's teammate, Chouji peaks in. "Is Shikamaru here?"

Yoshino points toward the room she just vacated, before beating a hasty retreat.

Chouji blinks bemusedly, before striding up to the familiar door. "Shika, Tsunade-sama wants-" he froze, registering the gloomy atmosphere. "Riiight… I'll just… be going now…." He closes the door quietly, and purposefully heads toward the front door, "I'll be right back, Nara-san."

Yoshino opens her mouth to tell him to give up, but he's already gone.

Not five minutes later he's back, grinning triumphantly with an irascible Ino in tow. The large boy stays in the hall, and waves the furious female onward; "I'll just talk to Nara-san here for a minute."

Ino is so incensed she actually believes him, and rages forward, slamming open the door with a loud bag, rattling picture frames hanging from the walls. "NARA SHIKAMARU!!"

Inside the room, seen only by Ino, Shikamaru jumps, the dreary mood evaporating quickly as he seemed to light up from within. Everyone, how ever, heard what came next.

"HOW DARE YOU KEEP US WAITING!! TSUNADE-SAMA WANTS US FOR A MISSION!! GET YOUR LAZY ASS MOVING!!"

"Yeah, yeah… troublesome woman…"

"I heard that!"

"Ow! I'm moving, geeze!"

Yoshino blinks again, staring at her now normal (maybe even happy? It's hard to tell sometimes…) son exits the room. She remains there, frozen, until Team 10 leaves to pick up their mission, Ino and Shikamaru still arguing. Slowly, slowly a devious smile spreads across her face, and a devious chuckle bubbles forth from her lips.

Her husband, coming in from an early mission, freezes in familiar fear, before turning around and walking hurriedly to the Hokage's tower to demand another mission; preferably one that kept him away from home for a while, no matter how troublesome.


	9. Ambrosia

**Ambrosia****:**_  
__"Your Love Is Reciproca__ted"_

"Goddammit, why can't I get through to his thick skull?!"

Sakura sighs, preferring to let her friend rant before running damage control.

"I've done everything I can think of and HE STILL DOESN'T GET IT!! HE'S WORSE THAN NARUTO WITH HINATA!!"

A wince, that was harsh.

"Stupid, self-centered men who can't wrap their minds around romance! Lazy, selfish, unmotivated, sexist, _rude!_"

Sakura prays she'll run out of air soon.

"And- and… and what am I going to do!?" The loud wail rips through the room, and Sakura suddenly finds herself covered by a blonde waterworks factory, knocking over a vase of ambrosia as they fall to the floor.

"Sakuraaaa! Do you have ANY advice? Any miracle drug I can slip in his food?"

"I'm afraid not, Ino."

"But if I don't get through to him soon that hussy from Sand is gonna steal him! I just know it! And he's too damn lazy to protest! The bastard'd probably like it! ARRG!! Why does he have to be so dense? Why cant he be a genius when it comes to feelings, too?!"

Finally, Sakura can say something. While maybe not awe-inspiring in its groundbreaking wisdom, it is exactly what the distressed kunoichi needs.

"Because you love him the way he is now."

And this time, the tears aren't of frustration.

* * *

I know I'm gonna get yelled at for calling Temari a hussy... BUT IT ISNT MY FAULT!! It's something a romance-rival charged Ino would call her, right? I dont know what lame nickname to make, Billboardbrow and she-with-too-many-pigtails? Nope, doesnt sound right. Oddly enough, I like ShikaTema more than ShikaIno, but I'm on an Ino rush here. Besides, its such a cute theme.

ALSO! Sorry for not updating in so long, I just got back from camp, and school is starting tomorrow, so I'm gonna be busy until I get back in academic-mode. (Screams of terror echo through the night.)


	10. Iris

**Iris**:  
_Faith; Wisdom; Valor; Hope_

"So, that's how it is. And… I need advice."

Chouji stares at his best friend for a moment, before a snicker breaks through his lips. "You… you like Ino!"

"Shut up! Someone might hear"

The sight of his normally imperturbable friend so paranoid only makes the Akamichi laugh harder.

"That's it! I'm leaving!"

Laughter follows in his wake.

"So… that's how it is. What do you think he'd do if I told him?"

Chouji is incredulous, staring at his kunoichi teammate with a look of disbelief of his face.  
You… like Shikamaru?"

"QUIET!"

The irony is too much, Chouji snorts into his plate of ribs, blowing the meat everywhere, before letting out a deep belly laugh.

Ino humiliated and angry, throws the bunch of Iris she hag been trimming in her teammate's face.

"I DON'T KNOW WHY I BOTHERED COMING TO YOU! IM LEAVING!"

This only brings about more laughter.

"You're her best friend, what do you think she'd do?" Shikamaru is nervous, wondering whether Sakura will just tell Ino or make fun of him. Instead, a large, predatory grin spreads across her face, and a terrifying laugh breaks forth from her lips. "THIS IS SO PERFECT!" As Shikamaru runs away in terror, a girlish squeal of joy rings throughout the town. "YES!"

Later that day Haruno Sakura and Akimichi Chouji seek each other out, both smiling devilishly as they realize they had the same plans.

* * *

Yes, I know, finally. I completely forgot I hadnt updated this (sweatdrops). Ladeedadeeda... I'm waiting for my dad to come home with mah baking soda. Cookies! I have everything EXCEPT baking soda. That's the only item I'v never ru out of before!! . I wanted to get them done before every one got home, becuase they'd be drooling over my shoulder but noooo. Damn baking soda. IM GOING TO EAT YOU!! (Literally.)

Have fun y'all. I'll send you a virtual cookie if you review, and two if you give me crit! (Yay critique!) Yeah.

P.S. AP classes are taking over my life. Inspiration sapped by the paper or more due every week. AND THATS ONE CLASS! There's others. Thank god CAD's homework is only drawing boxes -.-'


End file.
